


Train to Iacon

by Cryolated



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-03 23:55:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12758886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cryolated/pseuds/Cryolated
Summary: An ordinary train ride to Iacon turns into the train ride from hell for those onboard as they fight for survival in a planetwide apocalypse.Zombie AU.





	1. 1.

**Author's Note:**

> Hooked on this idea, my hands proceeded to type out all of these without my consent.

Wing sighed as he sat down on an empty seat in the cabin. Waking up to a wrong alarm had been only the start of his morning troubles. Air traffic had been much heavier than expected in Tyger Pax and he barely made it in time. Rushing through the gantry, the train conductor had been kind enough to hold the train for him. 

 

The train was rather packed this morning with only a few empty seats left. He ended up sitting beside a grey mech whose only acknowledgement was a grunt. The route between Tyger Pax and Iacon exploded in popularity recently, forcing Wing to reschedule multiple deliveries. The booming economy in Tyger Pax attracted lots of mechs to visit and many who did chose to stay. There were credits to be made, love to be found in the up and rising city. Wing had travelled there on a consignment to deliver a package to one of his clients. Working as a courier definitely had its perks, one of which was loads of free time when his shift was over. Treating himself to a short vacation, Wing spent a decacycle in Tyger Pax eating, drinking and partying to his spark's content.

 

He had returned to the hotel last night when he received a new consignment from Seabreeze. 

 

_Pick up the parcel in Iacon and deliver the package to a mech named Dai Atlas in Crystal City. The package is on express delivery._

 

Catching the train next morning to Iacon was the only way to meet the deadline set by Seabreeze. In hindsight, Wing admitted to himself that the short vacation wasn't the smartest of decisions he made. Ticket prices for the train next morning were way overpriced and Wing had to force himself to click the "book" button.

 

The train route was rather scenic, cutting through several mountains in Tyger Pax as well as the Crystal Forest in Praxus. Wing leaned back, careful of his wings and looked out of the windows. The scene outside was beautiful, the contour of the mountains forming the skyline. Visiting the snow covered peaks was out of the question, given that it will take Wing at least another lifetime to save up enough credits to do so.

 

The cabin was definitely quiet this morning despite being full of mechs. Across the aisle set two grounders, one of which was dozing off. One of them glared at Wing when they met eye contact before he looked away. The grounder beside him was currently on his datapad watching some sort of movie. Reaching for his datapad, Wing scrolled through the net when several articles caught his optic. 

 

_Mechs gone out of control! The apocalypse is near!_

 

_Mechs in Kaon go crazy and maul each other! Must watch!_

 

Clicking on the video, the camera focused in on a brawl in an alleyway. Everything seemed normal until one of the mechs bit into the shoulder of another mech. The mech who was bitten then roared and jumped at the camera before the video feed cut to black. 

 

Well, that was odd. 

 

Shrugging it off as a prank, Wing turned his attention towards his consignment. 

 

_Pick up the parcel at the Iacon Delivery Center in the afternoon before catching the evening train to Crystal City._

 

While that was rather easy to accomplish, what wasn't particularly easy on his finances were the rides. Reviewing his bank statement for the decacycle, Wing sighed. Train rides weren't covered by the company and much of his pay went into paying for the rides. The distance between Iacon and Crystal City made it impossible to fly there and Seabreeze had made it clear that he wasn't going to cover it. What meagre amount of his pay left then had to pay for rent and energon, both of which did not come cheap. 

 

Looking through his itinerary, he was interrupted when a voice came through the loudspeaker. 

 

_"All passengers, we will be stopping at the next station to pick up several new passengers. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and hope that you will travel with us again."_

 

Checking through his map, the next station would be in Praxus. Everything that happened this morning seemed to conspire against Wing and now his schedule left no margin of error. If he didn't catch the train at Iacon, he would have to fly there even if it means getting zero recharge tonight. Seabreeze was known for threatening employees who were late in their deliveries and Wing didn't want to be on the receiving end of it. Not that he could, given that one of his previous deliveries was late. 

 

"My apologies, if I may borrow your datapad? Mine is out of charge and I need to check in with my employer." The grounder beside him finally spoke and Wing had to repress the urge to moan at the smooth baritone. The stranger pointed at his datapad which was showing the "low charge" symbol. 

 

"Here," Wing closed the tab that he was using before passing the datapad over. 

 

"Megatron of Kaon," the stranger intoned. Their optics met briefly before Wing broke contact. 

 

"I'm Wing of Crystal City," he replied before finding a sudden interest in his digits. Here he was acting like a sparkling when he was a grown mech!

 

Silence settled between both of them before Megatron returned his datapad. 

 

* * *

 

 

_Meanwhile in Praxus,_

 

Chief Enforcer Barricade swore as he dodged another one of those mechs. A few klicks ago he was handling a brawl that had broken out near the Crystal Gardens before he was forced to fight for his life. The streets were filled with panic as mechs tried to run away from those _things_ that now roamed the streets. 

 

"Chief! We can't hold them back! They have breached the Towers!" 

 

Cursing his luck, Barricade barked out orders to abandon the Towers.Firing off a couple of shots, Barricade ducked behind a cafe as he assessed the situation. Blockades 1 through 4 had failed and several squads of officers had dropped of radio. He had requested for reinforcements from the local militia but he had no way of knowing if his request went through. His doorwings picked up on movement behind him and he spun around, guns aimed at a femme. Her optics were unnaturally bright and she was drooling. 

 

_Mechs never drooled._

 

"Stay back! Hands up where I can see them!" 

 

She didn't move and Barricade couldn't tell if she even understood what he said. Taking out his pistol, he tried again. 

 

"Don't come any nearer or I will shoot! Stand back!"

 

Still no response from the femme who was approaching him. She increased her pace and Barricade rested his digit on the trigger.Pulling the trigger on his pistol, the empty clack sent chills through his frame. Of all times to run of ammo, this was going to cost him. Taking his blade out of his subspace, he readied his dagger to the sight of the femme running and leaping for him. 

 

Acting fast, he ducked and shoved a table into the way, the femme landing on it before he spun around and brought the knife down as hard as he could. The resulting splatter of energon on the walls was a sight that the enforcer would never forget. Ex-venting harshly, he gathered his thoughts before reloading his pistol with shaky digits. The cafe had become eerily silent after his encounter with the deranged femme. Surveying the surroundings, he made his way out and towards the Grand Station which was the last line of defence. In the distance, the sound of an approaching train filled the air. 


	2. 2.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A background into the relationship between Deadlock and Ratchet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Action is in the next chapter. More background information first.

Deadlock never considered him to be a believer in Primus. At least not until he had seen the medic that worked in that run down clinic in Rodion. The way the old doctor conducted himself had mesmerized him and he couldn’t keep himself away from the medic. Hiding in the shadows, he often stalked the orange mech whenever he left the clinic. 

 

One time, he had passed out after boosting in a back alley, only to wake up in the clinic. The berth had been comfortable and when he finally saw the medic’s face, he swore that the old doctor was positively glowing. A white aura seemed to settle around the medic and Deadlock shivered when the medic spoke. He could listen to that voice for days. 

 

“You’re special kid. Look after yourself, ain’t gonna be around forever to fix you up. And stop following me around.” Ratchet resisted the urge to smirk when the dark mech looked absolutely mortified at being caught before he placed a hand on Deadlock's cheek and gently patted him. 

 

The old doctor, Ratchet, was fragging hot as slag and after staying in his medbay, Deadlock swore that he was never going back to the gutters. Ratchet, despite being a grump, had a spark of gold and Deadlock fell even harder for the handsome medic. Being beside Ratchet and feeling their fields mingling together made him feel good and Ratchet’s petting was legendary. Deadlock never felt more pampered than he had ever been in his entire existence when the medic has sat down beside him and started petting his helm. 

 

The first time he had suggested being Ratchet’s assistant had the orange mech laughing out loud, snorting pink energon. Deadlock resisted the urge to moan and secretly took an image capture of the grumpy medic. After many rounds of pestering and begging, Ratchet finally relented and Deadlock was ecstatic to move in with Ratchet. 

 

While Deadlock would have never pegged the old medic for a cook, the dishes Ratchet made were fantastic and he loved it when Ratchet would take time off to teach him. The close proximity of their frames and the way Ratchet’s digits would brush over his sent heat travelling all the way up his finials. 

 

A few orns ago, Ratchet had received a message a friend in Iacon that his expertise was required. Deadlock had planted his foot down and wouldn’t budge until Ratchet had agreed that Deadlock could come along. Checking his guns, Deadlock felt Ratchet frowning at him. 

 

“Kid, we are going to Iacon and not Kaon. Pit do you need those guns for?”

 

“Self defence, Ratchet. Lots of bad mechs out there,” Deadlock replied as he checked his blaster. He had won a bet a long time ago during a drinking game and had splurged to get himself a nice big gun that scared other stragglers from coming close to him. 

 

He more than felt Ratchet’s sigh and he subspaced his weapon, holding out a hand to Ratchet. Ratchet seemed to blush as he placed his hand in Deadlock’s and they set off towards the train station for the train to Iacon. 

 

* * *

 

The white flier that sat opposite the aisle was looking again. Glaring and baring his fangs, he hoped that the flier would take a hint and stop staring at Ratchet. The cranky doctor was Deadlock’s and the flier would learn that. The medic was recharging, leaned against the table between them. The white flier looked away when he was caught looking and Deadlock was content to stroke Ratchet’s digits while he recharged. Ratchet had pulled an all-nighter a few nights ago when a mech had came to the clinic half mauled to death. He had been in the operating room for a full vorn before he came back out and handed the rest of the duties to Velocity. Deadlock could tell that he was tired, the way his shoulders sagged and the dimness of his optics.

 

Looking back at the recharging mech, Deadlock smiled and basked in the moment. The way Ratchet’s field lapped at his gently and the serenity of the cabin lulled him into a calm trance that he was content to bask in. 

 

* * *

 

Nautica whimpered as she lay on the ground, her hands clutching at her legs. She was out buying breakfast when some rude mech had attacked her. Nautica dropped everything she was carrying and ran for cover but she wasn’t quite fast enough to evade her attacker. Her attacker was able to close the gap and grabbed her by her legs and she screamed as loudly as she could. The mech then bit into her legs and she thrashed on the ground as she tried to dislodge the mech but the mech was built like steel and refused to budge. 

 

A flash of heat and a bang brought her back to reality as she saw the mech fall to the ground beside her. Curling in on herself, she tried her best to hold back coolant that threatened to burst from her optics. Another mech ran towards her before he crouched down in front of her. She couldn’t hear what he was saying but she knew that she wasn’t safe. She had to leave. 

 

Getting back on her feet, she pushed the mystery mech away and ran. She had to go somewhere, somewhere safe. Where was Nightbeat when she needed him? Was Nightbeat at the train station? Polyhex? Polyhex, where was Polyhex? Nautica wanted to scream at the futility of her situation but she held it in and ran towards the train station. She had to get to Nightbeat. Where was Nightbeat?

 

Running into the station, she ran past different mechs and headed towards the platform. The people who she ran past stared at her but she paid them no mind. She had to find Nightbeat. One of the security mechs tried to stop her and yelled at her to stop but she ignored him. Her legs were starting to hurt now and she struggled to get down to the platform. The pink energon oozing out of her legs left a bright trail behind her as mechs shouted at her and yelled at her to stop. She couldn’t stop. She had to continue for Nightbeat. 

 

The platform was empty save for one train left. She had to get on board and she ran and hid in the cargo cabin right at the back of the train. Her leg was starting to really hurt now and she wheezed as she touched her wound. Her helm was spinning and she couldn’t tell which way was up. Nightbeat was standing right in front of her! She started crawling towards him but he kept walking away. Why was he leaving? Didn’t he love her? She tried to yell but she couldn’t get her vocalizer to work and she struggled as her world fell out from underneath her. 

 

What she didn’t remember was that Nightbeat  deactivated eight vorns ago.

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism welcome.


End file.
